Diy Routine Mainteance 2001 Rx300

[Russ White]

I purchased a high mileage (66,000) RX300 just off lease and through auction in mid October. Before the purchase I contacted the car's owner and verified oil and filter changes at an independent express oil type facility, but no other maintenance of any kind had been performed. I felt the price justified the risk and planned to do a major service myself. I browsed many of this site's helpful posts as I planned what items to service.

I performed the following service, purchasing parts from Park Place Lexus and fluids from my local Toyota dealer.

Removed valve cover to check for engine gel/sludge. I had a letter in hand from Lexus promising to cover repairs if necessary. Good news, no gel! I decided to go the engine cleaning with Auto Rx just for good measure. I replaced the gasket on the valve cover I removed, but could probably have avoided that as the original was not the least damaged during the cover's removal.

Replaced Fuel Filter - leaned how to remove the rear seat and smell up the whole house on that one.

Replaced air filter

Replaced air conditioning filter - it needed it!

Drain and fill transaxle - Type IV fluid - looked and smelled good

Replace Coolant - Toyota long life red

Inspect Brake Pads

For those of you who may not have replaced the oil filter on the RX300 - you don't know what you are missing. It is difficult to get to, being located below the exhaust manifold on the front of the engine and not really accessible from below. When it is removed the oil drains down over the engine mount and on the front plastic engine pan and finally into your catch pan. Things had gone well and I was down to the last item which was to change the coolant. The manual advised to remove the plastic engine pan to get easy access to the radiator drain. When I removed the pan I could see where the oil had run down from numerous oil changes and left the only greasy dirt I had found on the entire engine. I figured I could fix that, got out my handy can of engine degreaser and a small brush and proceeded to clean the area to like new. Fill the radiator with new coolant mix, and went for a drive. Yikes - one block from the house and I had the dreaded check engine light ( CEL ) followed quickly by the TracOff and VSC lights. My stomach did a flip and I make a U turn for home. What could I have done?? Although many of you may know already, it took me until the next day to put together my theory - and here it is.

I reset the CEL codes by removing the EFI fuse - then went for another drive. Wasn't long until CEL and its buddies were back on again. I think it was the engine degreaser on the oxygen sensor. In the end I just took a long drive to bake things out real good and then reset the codes. That was the end of it. I've logged many miles since, and no return of the codes. I just wish I had taken the car to a local parts place and got the actual codes read out. If I had I think I would have know what a bad front oxygen sensor would look like. Anyone want to spray theirs and let me know

I like this car a bunch. Next fun will be the timing belt and plugs when that mileage rolls around. If I can answer any questions about the maintenance I performed, I would be glad to.

Russ

[Lexusfreak]

I purchased a high mileage (66,000) RX300 just off lease and through auction in mid October.  Before the purchase I contacted the car's owner and verified oil and filter changes at an independent express oil type facility, but no other maintenance of any kind had been performed.  I felt the price justified the risk and planned to do a major service myself.  I browsed many of this site's helpful posts as I planned what items to service.

I performed the following service, purchasing parts from Park Place Lexus and fluids from  my local Toyota dealer.

Removed valve cover to check for engine gel/sludge.  I had a letter in hand from Lexus promising to cover repairs if necessary.  Good news, no gel!  I decided to go the engine cleaning with Auto Rx just for good measure.  I replaced the gasket on the valve cover I removed, but could probably have avoided that as the original was not the least damaged during the cover's removal.

Replaced Fuel Filter - leaned how to remove the rear seat and smell up the whole house on that one.

Replaced air filter

Replaced air conditioning filter - it needed it!

Drain and fill transaxle - Type IV fluid - looked and smelled good

Replace Coolant - Toyota long life red

Inspect Brake Pads

For those of you who may not have replaced the oil filter on the RX300 - you don't know what you are missing.  It is difficult to get to, being located below the exhaust manifold on the front of the engine and not really accessible from below.  When it is removed the oil drains down over the engine mount and on the front plastic engine pan and finally into your catch pan.  Things had gone well and I was down to the last item which was to change the coolant.  The manual advised to remove the plastic engine pan to get easy access to the radiator drain.  When I removed the pan I could see where the oil had run down from numerous oil changes and left the only greasy dirt I had found on the entire engine.  I figured I could fix that, got out my handy can of engine degreaser and a small brush and proceeded to clean the area to like new.  Fill the radiator with new coolant mix, and went for a drive.  Yikes - one block from the house and I had the dreaded check engine light ( CEL ) followed quickly by the TracOff and VSC lights.  My stomach did a flip and I make a U turn for home.  What could I have done??  Although many of you may know already, it took me until the next day to put together my theory - and here it is.

I reset the CEL codes by removing the EFI fuse - then went for another drive.  Wasn't long until CEL and its buddies were back on again.  I think it was the engine degreaser on the oxygen sensor.  In the end I just took a long drive to bake things out real good and then reset the codes.  That was the end of it.  I've logged many miles since, and no return of the codes.  I just wish I had taken the car to a local parts place and got the actual codes read out.  If I had I think I would have know what a bad front oxygen sensor would look like.  Anyone want to spray theirs and let me know

I like this car a bunch.  Next fun will be the timing belt and plugs when that mileage rolls around.  If I can answer any questions about the maintenance I performed, I would be glad to.

Russ

←

I hear you Russ! It almost seems to me that the location of the oil filter was an afterthought when Lexus (& Toyota) designed that engine as it's used in several models. Just makes such a mess when changing your oil (I thought I had an oil leak after the first couple times my mechanic did my oil changes, but he explained to me about the location of the filter & said it's next to impossible to clean up all the oil that had spilled oonto the subframe & related area). :(

[TunedRX300]

I stuff a shop towel by the exhaust header downpipe. Try to push it upward as much as possible, it will absorb some engine oil when you remove the oil filter.

Also point the filter opening upward and always take it out with the opening end.

[ghong001]

Russ,

How hard/easy was it to change to gas filter?

Could you give an idea of the procedure involved and the price for the gas filter?

Thanks

[Russ White]

The fuel filter is an integral part of the fuel pump assembly, all of which is located in the fuel tank. The fuel tank is accessed from under the left rear seat. The procedure is roughly outlined as follows:

Slide the left rear seat all the way rearward, pop off the two plastic rail covers, and remove the two bolts holding the rails at the front.

At the back of the rear seats pop loose the front of the carpet all the way across. Then remove black plastic rug plugs so you can get to the rear of the seat rails. Slide the seat forward and use an extension and socket to remove the rear slide bolts. Also remove a small bolt holding a triangular seat tether. Fold the seat down and lift it out. Remove plastic fasteners holding on the seat side trim so you will be able to fold the carpet back from where it was covering the floor under the seat. You will not see the circular cover that is just held in place with a sticky gasket. Pry it free and see the fuel tank access. Carefully release the latch on the connector to the fuel pump/fuel gauge and disconnet it. Try to start the car, it may run just a moment, to reduce the fuel pressure on the line from the pump. Slide out the latch on the fuel line and with some rags in place, pull it up and away from the fuel pump assembly. Now remove the 8 bolts holding the ring around the assembly and remove the ring through the access hole - it is a tight fit.

Gently lift the assembly noticing where the inlet fuel filter is and where the fuel level float is - you don't want to catch either of these on the opening and bend or break one. There is a flexible fuel line held in place with a hose clamp that you can release with pliers and remove the fuel line. I kept mine from falling back into the tank with a small clamp, but if it falls in I am sure you can fish it out. Now you have the assembly out and begin its dissassembly. I would suggest doing this with the shop manual handy as there are clips and o-rings and several pieces. The filter was about $31 from Park Place Lexus, but be careful, there was a filter model change within the 2001 model year so include your VIN with your order. I suggest letting the tank get close to empty before doing the job. Also, weather permitting, outside would be best. When putting the assembly back in the tank be certain the float is free from the flexible hose you will have to reattach.

Good luck!

Russ

[ghong001]

Thanks for the details!

How did your gas filter look at 66K? and how often do you suggest replacing?

[Russ White]

There is nothing to see. The filter is opaque. I just looked through the owner's manaul and can not find that the fuel filter is ever required to be replaced. I may have done in unnecessarily. Lexus may count on a sensor seeing low fuel pressure and setting a code to suggest replacement. I am still kind of glad to know I have a new one in there. There was a bit of dark colored "varnish" on a small portion of the lower half of the primary fuel filter - a mesh like sack. But, the rest of the sack looked new. I did clean that dark area off as well as replacing the entire fuel filter. It is also an opportunity to inspect the tank bottom for any contamination - and since it was a used car I was glad to see a very clean tank.

Russ

[dchan865]

Hi Russ,

Do you have any suggestions on changing the radiator coolant?

Is it as simple as removing the drain plug and fluid, then refill it the recommended

fluid and water?

Any suggestions about things to watch out for as I am doing it would be helpful.

By the way, my RX300 has 71K miles and its been very reliable.

Thanks,

If anyone beside Russ done this before, I would be glad to hear from you.

David

[TunedRX300]

Hi Russ,

Do you have any suggestions on changing the radiator coolant?

Is it as simple as removing the drain plug and fluid, then refill it the recommended

fluid and water?

Any suggestions about things to watch out for as I am doing it would be helpful.

By the way, my RX300 has 71K miles and  its been very reliable.

Thanks,

If anyone beside Russ done this before, I would be glad to hear from you.

David

←

In between drain and refill, I used Prestone Radiator Flush to get rid of deposit buildups inside the radiator. The diretion is written on the bottle and easy to follow. Exam your hoses and make sure they are not aged.

[dchan865]

After extensive search, I found some tips on how to do this from another owner. Here's the link in case anyone need it in the future.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...8508&hl=coolant

You could tell this is not my full time job. Are there any special tools require?

thanks,

David

[Russ White]

David,

That was a good link with descriptions of the two basic procedures. A complete flush and drain using the petcock/s on the engine block and the method I used, just a drain and fill. I plan to do a drain and fill every year and think I can get the same result as the less frequent flush. I did my drain as fill as follows:

With the coolant warm or cold, but not hot, remove the plastic lip pan that is below the radiator. Suck out the coolant from the resivoir ( I used a turkey baster dedicated to the shop). At the bottom of the radiator you will see a white plastic drain plug with a small spiget pointing down. Opening the plug slightly will let cooland drain out, but removing the plug will drain it much more quickly, but will be a bit messy. The radiator cap should be removed so air can replace the coolant that is draining out. Be sure to use Toyota's long life red coolant and distilled water to mix a 50/50 mixture. I mix mine in a graduated plastic orange juice container to keep track of both what I drained and what I put back in. After you have added all that will go in, go for a drive with the heater on. When the car cools, top up the resivoir if necessary. Continue to check the resivoir for the next few trips until it reaches a constant level. My coolant after 66,000 miles when drained looked just like new. Good luck.

Russ

[dchan865]

Thanks, Russ. You answered one my question(location of the drain plug). I got a little confuse about the location of plug initially. I hope you won't mind if I ask you another question.

You mentioned that for a complete flush and drain using the petcock on the engine block method.

Where are the plugs on the engine block? Is that something that's visible once I removed the plasitc cover below? Are special tools required?

I might just do the simple drain and fill method since my car is about 4 years old, and do the more extensive one later. However, the the flush and drain is not that complicated, I might take on that task.

Thanks,

David

[Russ White]

David,

The block plug is shown on the shop manual engine diagram, but I was unable to locate it on the engine. It is certainly not nearly as accessible as the plug in the bottom of the radiator. That contributed to my decision to do the drain and fill rather than a flush with engine block drain.

Russ

[dchan865]

Russ, I had a chance to work on it today and something didn't seem right so wondering if you got the same result.

I did the drained and filled with Toyota long life coolant with 50/50 solution.

After testing driving it for 30 minute on street and freeway with heater on or off, the temp guage needle consistently stays at about 1/16 inch over the 2 notches, close to the middle. I sense its a bit high.

I don't recall what it was normally before my coolant change. I think it was little under 2 notches above the "C" indicator. But not sure.

What did you get? I am beginning to wonder that I didn't add enough coolant into the system or air may have got into the system during the process.

If anyone else did this before, what are you guys seeing on the temp guage?

Thanks,

David

[Russ White]

David,

I don't think you have any problem. Mine runs about 1/2 all the time. If there were enough air in there to be a problem, the indication would be much higher. Any small trapped air will work its way out shortly. Just continue to watch the level in the overflow tank and keep it full. All should be okay. Have a Happy NewYear.

Russ

[dchan865]

David,

I don't think you have any problem.  Mine runs about 1/2 all the time.  If there were enough air in there to be a problem, the indication would be much higher.  Any small trapped air will work its way out shortly.  Just continue to watch the level in the overflow tank and keep it full.  All should be okay.  Have a Happy NewYear.

Russ

←

Thanks, Russ. Another owner reported that two of his RX is also about 1/16 over the 2 notches so I wouldn't sweat it. I'll just keep an eye out on it. Since this my first time ever doing "DIY" on this car, I get a little paranoid.

Have a wonderful new year!